I'm not sure about the Tour Striker. I used it for about 10 minutes at a Golf Galaxy, and managed to flush every shot while still flipping, or at least whatever you call the movement of my hands at the bottom of my current swing.

I didn't think you could use the words "flush" and "flip" in the same sentence. Was the lie tight? Can you do that hitting off a lie board? I'd be really impressed if you could. Basically the equator of the ball needs to be above the bottom line of the contact area. This is possible if the lie is a little forgiving so you can scoop it slightly, and you are only scooping it slightly. Fix the lie and it becomes almost impossible to flip and still hit it flush.

I didn't think you could use the words "flush" and "flip" in the same sentence. " rel="http://files.thesandtrap.com//images/smilies/new/a2_wink.gif"> Was the lie tight? Can you do that hitting off a lie board? I'd be really impressed if you could. Basically the equator of the ball needs to be above the bottom line of the contact area. This is possible if the lie is a little forgiving so you can scoop it slightly, and you are only scooping it slightly. Fix the lie and it becomes almost impossible to flip and still hit it flush.

I hit it off mats and a lie board, same thing. I guess my swing at this point isn't full-on flip (my left wrist is getting more and more stable, but my hands still roll aggressively/annoyingly). Here is my most recent video, the flip was probably a little worse when I used the Tour Striker.

I hit it off mats and a lie board, same thing. I guess my swing at this point isn't full-on flip (my left wrist is getting more and more stable, but my hands still roll aggressively/annoyingly)

I see what you mean. I guess I got confused about the terminology. When I read flip, I thought "backwards leaning shaft at impact with a cupped left wrist". You obviously don't have that. This product is designed to help you get your hands ahead at impact. I don't think it helps at all with the forearm rotation you are mentioning. It looks to me like you roll it open and take it back to the inside on the takeaway. Rolling it back is the only real way to square it with that motion. Your arms keep moving (and rotating) a bit once your shoulders stop turning which exacerbates the need for a roll. Are you wanting to change that? Do you have an instructor you are working with?

For what it's worth, here's me hitting a few shots with the striker pro 5 iron (probably the most difficult to hit). I had to use 3/4 swings so I could maintain lag pressure through impact. The vast majority at this point are mishits, so I've got a lot of work to do. Here's one where I hit it flush followed by a cold top. Launch was low followed by a rise to around 2-story height:

Fist pump because it's so damn hard to hit. It makes me wish I had a 1-iron from 1970 in my hands. I remember even as a 16 year old 50 handicapper that it was easier to hit those. Tempo was nice there, reminds me a little like John Senden.

This one is what typically happens, though:

Backswing got a little long there and I didn't get my hips as far forward on the way down. Consequently, lost my lag pressure. Tempo was wacky too. Not sure what's the cause and what's the effect.

It's fun to work with because not only do you have to hit it with the right amount of forward shaft lean, you have to hit it flush. Hitting it on the toe sends it slicing right and off the heel sends it hooking left. So far I'm hitting probably 5 good shots out of 50 with it. I started at 1 out of 50, a day ago, so I'm getting better.

If you're not struggling with forward shaft lean and hitting it in the center of the face every time, and instead you're just trying to gain left-right consistency, I don't think this product is what you need for a breakthrough honestly.

Let me ask a question ( possibly asked before on this thread, if so apologies ), all of the people posting about using this aid or not using but recommending it from a theoretical point of view seem to be playing off some pretty low numbers. I am assuming while this can help you guys a bit you should already have a decent swing with some amount of lag and lean..

So what about the high handicappers or me yet to get mine, does this club do what it says on the tin for us? like if i use one for X amount of balls by X amount of days a week will i intuitively develop lag and better ball striking or will i spend all my time duffing balls all over the range cause im not "good" enough to reap its benifits.

I keep reading that if a lot of guys had their start in golf again they'd get lessons straight off so that they could build a proper swing instead of fix a bad swing later on, i am really thinking of doing this. Being at this stage of my golf game ( very new to it ) should i consider adding one of these to my routine also and if so which one. I dont get why they have 5,7,8 and wedge, surely learning to hit one is learning to hit all?

Ok guys i'll bite haha
Let me ask a question ( possibly asked before on this thread, if so apologies ), all of the people posting about using this aid or not using but recommending it from a theoretical point of view seem to be playing off some pretty low numbers. I am assuming while this can help you guys a bit you should already have a decent swing with some amount of lag and lean..
So what about the high handicappers or me yet to get mine, does this club do what it says on the tin for us? like if i use one for X amount of balls by X amount of days a week will i intuitively develop lag and better ball striking or will i spend all my time duffing balls all over the range cause im not "good" enough to reap its benifits.
I keep reading that if a lot of guys had their start in golf again they'd get lessons straight off so that they could build a proper swing instead of fix a bad swing later on, i am really thinking of doing this. Being at this stage of my golf game ( very new to it ) should i consider adding one of these to my routine also and if so which one. I dont get why they have 5,7,8 and wedge, surely learning to hit one is learning to hit all?

The pro 5 is pretty hard to hit. I let someone (a +1 handicap) hit it. He could hit it flush maybe less than half the time. Your progress will completely depend on your commitment to whatever method you use to build your swing. If you are thinking mechanically about such and such position with little regard to the feels and pressures your swing is creating, you'll probably struggle for a long time to get it in the air. The purpose of this product is to give you feedback so you can "feel" your way to forward shaft lean at impact with center face contact. If you can get it in the air (on a tight lie like inside a divot) on a straight line, not slicing or hooking, you know you hit it in the center of the face with forward shaft lean. It's pretty much that simple. Get it in the air where it looks like a normal 5-iron (normal=penetrating flight), feels flush, and you've got forward shaft lean with center face contact. Compare the two videos I posted, the one where I flush it and the one where I top it. All I was thinking about was don't let the club outrace your hands. In order to do this I had to:

Pivot with my lower body while keeping my head, hands, and club back.

Swing in balance

Accelerate gradually

Don't decel

These are all things that I struggle with. Being able to work on this while hitting balls and immediately know whether I had a good action or not is invaluable. No more subjective, looking on camera and just "feeling" whether my rhythm was good or not. The ball flight doesn't lie.

If you struggle with this stuff, get the regular 7-iron. It's only $100 and it doesn't wear out.

in most cases the mat will prevent bottoming out TOO SOON. if you hit the mat before the mat holds back against the club keeping the clubface at the proper angle.

sometimes you can feel the give in the mat when you make contact too, which is almost like hitting off of a trampoline (if you can ensure the ball doesn't move) the club will push against the mat and as the mat gives the club gets slightly more below the ball. making it much easier to make pure contact.

Off range/fairway turf if you bottom out early you end up digging up turf and the ball going maybe 50-60 yards by how hard your swing is. hitting this club out the rough is a pretty good starter i think cause the ball tends to sit up, but, nothing beats using this club (mine is an 8iron) on pitch/knockdowns. just start with this club at the range and aim for a reasonable 80-100 yard target and dont get frustrated if it doesn't hold the green or starts to sail over. the easier you swing in most cases the ball goes further. just make sure to focus on getting to the ball steep and try to visualize contact. forget the turf afterwards. although, when i do hit my shots flush its rewarding to see some "stuff" fly up in front of me haha.

best shot i hit (after i got proper grip size which relaxed my grip and posture) i hit the flush knockdown 9 iron from about 115 and my divot went 30 yards ahead from where i hit. I was pumped because i always watch these tour players and you always see the caddy running back while the player is walking up to the green. it makes me laugh and really wonder how they hit consistent like that. then i did it! felt awesome and its really because i ranged it up with this club before my round.

Its basic physics, newtons third law "every action has and equal and opposite reaction", so when we swing our club back and then change this momentum at the top of our swing to a forward swing the club heads momentum makes it still want to move backwards "equal and opposite" therefore we feel the shaft / grip put pressure on our right index finger area.

I was a competitive beach angler in my teens and "LAG" was a vital element of the cast to achieve distance, ie the tip of the rod is behind your hands and the weight on the end of the line is behind the tip of the rod at all times during the cast until release ( causing the bow like shape in the rod )

So i understand LAG and lean, what i want to know is with this club will continual use teach my body how to swing the club correctly to achieve the above with a golf club by pure intuition? ie will it over time change my back swing, pivot, swing speed etc until i can hit it sweet or will i need to have a very good swing already

Edit: I'd be looking at the 7 pro if i was getting any of them, not the pro x as the sweet spot is ridiculously small lol

ie will it over time change my back swing, pivot, swing speed etc until i can hit it sweet or will i need to have a very good swing already

Honestly I'd rather start someone brand new with something like this so their first principle is preserving forward pressure and then work on the motion to build consistency and neutral ball flight. I see a lot of swings that look "good" position-wise, but aren't good dynamically. No device is ever going to make you a tour player. But if you can figure out how to get this thing in the air consistently, I'd bet that no matter what you paid for it you would be happy with the purchase.

Also, to address the concern that this is a "lower handicap product", which I don't believe.... I haven't maintained this handicap for very long. A year ago or so I was around 8-12, with the short game being my strong point. A little further back 3-4 years, I was probably around 25 or so, generally shooting high 90s. It's just something I've worked on. I still consider myself a "high handicap" golfer with a lot of room for improvement. It just takes the right circumstances to bring that guy out. I remember what it was like being "a 25" and "a 12" and "an 8".... I'm still the same guy, just doing better things with my game now.